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Stephen Vincent Benét ( ; July 22, 1898 – March 13, 1943) was an American poet,
short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...
writer, and novelist. He wrote a book-length narrative poem of the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, '' John Brown's Body'', published in 1928, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, and for the short stories " The Devil and Daniel Webster", published in 1936, and " By the Waters of Babylon", published in 1937. In 2009,
Library of America The Library of America (LOA) is a nonprofit publisher of classic American literature. Founded in 1979 with seed money from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation, the LOA has published more than 300 volumes by authors ...
selected his story "The King of the Cats", published in 1929, for inclusion in its two-century retrospective of '' American Fantastic Tales'', edited by Peter Straub.


Early life and education

Benét was born on July 22, 1898, in Fountain Hill, Pennsylvania, in the
Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...
region of eastern
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
to James Walker Benét, a colonel in the U.S. Army. His grandfather and namesake led the Army Ordnance Corps from 1874 to 1891 as a brigadier general and served in the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. His paternal uncle Laurence Vincent Benét was an ensign in the U.S. Navy during the
Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
who later manufactured the French Hotchkiss machine gun. Around the age of ten, Benét was sent to the Hitchcock Military Academy in
San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city in and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of th ...
. He graduated at the top of his class from Summerville Academy in
Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...
, and from
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
, where he was "the power behind the '' Yale Lit''", according to
Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'', and a U. ...
, a fellow member of the Elizabethan Club. As a Yale University student, he also edited and contributed light verse to the campus humor magazine ''
The Yale Record ''The Yale Record'' is the campus humor magazine of Yale University. Founded in 1872, it is the oldest humor magazine in the United States."History", The Yale Record, March 10, 2010. http://www.yalerecord.com/about/history/ ''The Record'' is c ...
''. His first book was published when he was aged 17, and he was awarded an M.A. in English upon submission of his third volume of poetry in lieu of a thesis. He was also a part-time contributor to ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine in the magazine's early years. In 1920 and 1921, Benét was in France on a Yale traveling fellowship, where he met Rosemary Carr; the couple married in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
in November 1921. Carr was also a writer and poet, and they collaborated on some works. In 1926, he received a
Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...
award and, while living in Paris, wrote ''John Brown's Body''.


Career

Benét helped solidify the place of the Yale Series of Younger Poets Competition and
Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...
during his decade-long judgeship of the competition. He published the first volumes of
James Agee James Rufus Agee ( ; November 27, 1909 – May 16, 1955) was an American novelist, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, writing for ''Time'', he was one of the most influential film critics in the United States. His autob ...
, Muriel Rukeyser, Jeremy Ingalls, and Margaret Walker. In 1929, Benét was elected a member of the
American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...
. Two years later, in 1931, he was awarded a fellowship by the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
. Benét won the O. Henry Award three times: in 1932, for his short stories ''An End to Dreams''; in 1937, for '' The Devil and Daniel Webster''; and in 1940, for ''Freedom's a Hard-Bought Thing''. His fantasy short story " The Devil and Daniel Webster" inspired several unauthorized dramatizations by other writers after its publication, which prompted Benét to adapt his own work for the stage. Benét approached composer
Douglas Moore Douglas Stuart Moore (August 10, 1893 – July 25, 1969) was an American composer, songwriter, organist, pianist, Conducting, conductor, educator, actor, and author. A composer who mainly wrote works with an American subject, his music is genera ...
to create an opera of the work with Benét serving as librettist in 1937. '' The Devil and Daniel Webster: An Opera in One Act'', published by Farrar & Rinehart in 1939, premiered on Broadway that same year. The opera version of Benet's "The Devil and Daniel Webster" was created from 1937 through 1939, and its
libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
served as the basis for a 1938 play adaptation of the work, ''The Devil and Daniel Webster: A Play in One Act'', published by Dramatists Play Service in 1938. The play, in turn, was used as the source for a screenplay adaptation co-written by Benét, which was released in 1941 as '' All That Money Can Buy''. Benét also wrote a sequel, "Daniel Webster and the Sea Serpent", in which Daniel Webster encounters
Leviathan Leviathan ( ; ; ) is a sea serpent demon noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, and the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch. Leviathan is of ...
.


Death

Benét died of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
in New York City on March 13, 1943, at age 44. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in
Stonington, Connecticut Stonington is a town located on Long Island Sound in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The municipal limits of the town include the borough of Stonington (borough), Connecticut, Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Connecticut, Pa ...
, where he owned the historic Amos Palmer House.


Legacy

On April 17, 1943,
NBC Radio The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (also known as the NBC Red Network from 1927 to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in continuous operation from 1926 through 1999. Along with the NBC Blue Network, it wa ...
broadcast a special tribute to his life and works, which included a performance by
Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur (; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress. Often referred to as the "First Lady of American Theatre", she was the second person and first woman to win EGOT, the EGOT (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and ...
. He was awarded a posthumous
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
in 1944 for ''Western Star'', an unfinished narrative poem on the settling of the United States. Benét adapted the Roman myth of the rape of the Sabine Women into the story "The Sobbin' Women". That story was adapted as the musical film '' Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' (1954), then as a
stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...
(1978) and then
TV series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...
(1982). His play ''John Brown's Body'' was staged on Broadway in 1953 in a three-person dramatic reading featuring
Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...
,
Judith Anderson Dame Frances Margaret Anderson (10 February 18973 January 1992), known professionally as Judith Anderson, was an Australian actress who had a successful career in stage, film, and television. A pre-eminent stage actress in her era, she won two ...
, and
Raymond Massey Raymond Hart Massey (August 30, 1896 – July 29, 1983) was a Canadian actor known for his commanding stage-trained voice. For his lead role in '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' (1940), Massey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He r ...
, directed by
Charles Laughton Charles Laughton (; 1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was a British and American actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play wi ...
. The book was included in ''
Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
'' magazine's list of the 100 outstanding books of 1924–44. Dee Brown's ''
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee ''Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West'' is a 1970 non-fiction book by American writer Dee Brown. It explores the history of American expansionism in the American West in the late nineteenth century and its de ...
'' takes its title from the final phrase of Benét's poem "American Names": "You may bury my body in Sussex grass, You may bury my tongue at Champmédy. I shall not be there. I shall rise and pass. Bury my heart at Wounded Knee." The last two lines are used as an epigram at the beginning of Brown's book.


Selected works

* ''Five Men and Pompey, a series of dramatic portraits'', Poetry, 1915 * ''The Drug-Shop, or, Endymion in Edmonstoun'', his Yale University Prize Poem, written in 1917 * ''Young Adventure: A book of Poems'', 1918 * ''Heavens and Earth'', 1920 * ''The Beginnings of Wisdom: A Novel'', 1921 * ''Young People's Pride: A Novel'', 1922 * ''Jean Huguenot: A Novel'', 1923 * ''The Ballad of William Sycamore: A Poem'', 1923 * ''King David: A two-hundred-line ballad in six parts'', 1923 * ''Nerves'', 1924, a play co-authored with John C. Farrar * ''That Awful Mrs. Eaton'', 1924, a play co-authored with John C. Farrar * ''Tiger Joy: A Book of Poems'', 1925 * ''The Mountain Whippoorwill: How Hill-Billy Jim Won the Great Fiddler's Prize: A Poem.'', 1925 * '' The Bat'', 1926, ghostwritten novelization of the play by
Mary Roberts Rinehart Mary Roberts Rinehart (August 12, 1876September 22, 1958) was an American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie.Keating, H.R.F., ''The Bedside Companion to Crime''. New York: Mysterious Press, 1989, p. 170. Rinehart published her fi ...
and
Avery Hopwood James Avery Hopwood (May 28, 1882 – July 1, 1928) was an American playwright of the Jazz Age. He had four plays running simultaneously on Broadway in 1920, namely "The Gold Diggers," "The Bat" and "Spanish Love" and "Ladies' Night (In a ...
* ''Spanish Bayonet'', 1926 * '' John Brown's Body'', 1928 * ''The Barefoot Saint: A Short Story'', 1929 * ''The Litter of Rose Leaves: A Short Story'', 1930 * ''
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
'', 1930, a screenplay co-authored with Gerrit Lloyd * ''Ballads and Poems'', 1915–1930, 1931 * ''A Book of Americans'', 1933, co-authored with Rosemary Carr Benét, his wife * ''James Shore's Daughter: A Novel'', 1934 * ''The Burning City'', 1936, includes 'Litany for Dictatorships' * ''The Magic of Poetry and the Poet's Art'', 1936 * '' The Devil and Daniel Webster'', 1936 * '' By the Waters of Babylon'', 1937 * ''The Headless Horseman: one-act play'', 1937 * ''Thirteen O'Clock'', 1937 * ''We Aren't Superstitious'', 1937, an essay on the
Salem Witch Trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Not everyone wh ...
* ''Johnny Pye and the Fool Killer: A Short Story'', 1938 * ''Tales Before Midnight: Collection of Short Stories'', 1939 * ''The Ballad of the Duke's Mercy'', 1939 * '' The Devil and Daniel Webster'', 1939, an opera
libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
with
Douglas Moore Douglas Stuart Moore (August 10, 1893 – July 25, 1969) was an American composer, songwriter, organist, pianist, Conducting, conductor, educator, actor, and author. A composer who mainly wrote works with an American subject, his music is genera ...
* ''A Song of Three Soldiers'', 1940 * ''Elementals'', 1940–41 (broadcast) * ''Freedom's Hard-Bought Thing'', 1941, a broadcast * ''Listen to the People'', 1941 * ''A Summons to the Free'', 1941 * ''William Riley and the Fates'', 1941 * '' Cheers for Miss Bishop'', 1941, a screenplay written with Adelaide Heilbron and Sheridan Gibney * '' The Devil and Daniel Webster'', 1941, a screenplay written with Dan Totheroh * ''Selected Works'', 1942 (2 vols.) * ''Short Stories'', 1942 * ''Nightmare at Noon: Short Poem'', 1942, in ''The Treasury Star Parade'', edited by William A. Bacher * '' A Child is Born'', 1942, a broadcast * ''They Burned the Books'', 1942 * ''They Burned the Books'', 1942, a broadcast These works were published
posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...
: * ''Western Star'', 1943 (unfinished) * ''Twenty Five Short Stories'', 1943 * ''America'', 1944 * ''O'Halloran's Luck and Other Short Stories'', 1944 * ''We Stand United'', 1945, a series of radio scripts * ''The Bishop's Beggar'', 1946 * ''The Last Circle'', 1946 * ''Selected Stories'', 1947 * ''From the Earth to the Moon'', 1958


References


Sources

* *


External links

* *
Works by Stephen Vincent Benét
at
Project Gutenberg Australia Project Gutenberg Australia, abbreviated as PGA, is an Internet site which was founded in 2001 by Colin Choat. It is a sister site of Project Gutenberg, though there is no formal relationship between the two organizations. The site hosts free ebo ...

Works by Stephen Vincent Benét
a
Library of Short Stories

"We Aren't Superstitious"
an essay by Stephen Vincent Benét * *
Works by Stephen Vincent Benét
(public domain in Canada) * * * Stephen Vincent Benét and Rosemary Benét Papers at Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Benet, Stephen Vincent 1898 births 1943 deaths 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American poets 20th-century American short story writers American fantasy writers American male journalists American male novelists American male short story writers American opera librettists American people of Catalan descent Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Poets from Pennsylvania O. Henry Award winners Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winners The Yale Record alumni The Saturday Evening Post people Writers of Gothic fiction Mythopoeic writers